2023 Game 2: at Auburn

[Calmass9]

Coming off an upset in week 0, UMass heads to legendary Jordan-Hare stadium as a 36.5 point underdog on Saturday. That line has come down from 39.5 when it opened a week ago. With the over/under being set at 52, Vegas is predicting a final score of (roughly) 45-7. UMass is 9-1 against the spread vs SEC teams since moving up to the FBS in 2012. My money will be on the Minutemen to cover once again.

Hugh Freeze returns to the SEC and will be coaching his first game at Auburn. Freeze was at Liberty the last 4 years, making a bowl game each year in addition to beating UMass handily 4 times from 2019-2022.

At Quarterback for Auburn will be Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne. Thorne threw for over 6500 yards, 49 TDs, 24 INTs in 3 seasons with the Spartans. He's a big time talent that Auburn will be relying on to make an immediate impact in 2023. Freeze prefers to play a very up-tempo RPO (run pass option) style offense but Thorne is not a runner so it will be interesting to watch how the offense is designed.

If UMass can keep this within 24 points and stay healthy, that's a victory. I'll predict a 38-17 loss, with the game being close well into the 3rd quarter. Hope we shock the world.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Avoid major injuries and this is a success.

[Sheck]

Must win game to keep our CFB playoff hopes alive.

[Upstate10]

I have a couple large +39.5 tickets. I think we give them a scare in the first half. Just come out healthy and we have four straight very winnable games.

[Floyd]

Close ur eyes and imagine, just imagine if we keep this game close. The airtime on ESPN etc would be crazy.

Not expecting a W but I could see this group playing up and opening some eyes. This is our Super Bowl and guys will be pumped up for some respect

[e_parade]

I'll be happy if we're able to be removed from the Bottom 10 for the remainder of the season at some point this year.

[TheInsider]

Play hard and stay healthy.. keep mistakes to a minimum.. the score will be whatever it will be.

[stevemaz]

Auburn may have lousy run defense. I predict 17-14 UMass at halftime.

[69MG]

I think we're all on the same page, keep the score respectable and don't suffer any key injuries.

[TheInsider]

obviously Auburn will much deeper with talent than Umass but I think we can keep it close early and the game might not get too out of hand. I only say this because Auburn has a new coach with a new qb and system. It may take them a bit to get going. If we were playing them in game 8, this wouldn't matter but having them in their game 1 and having tape on Freeze from last year will be a big help.

[Old Cage]

"Everything you need to know from Don Brown’s presser on Monday"

https://nefootballjournal.com/2023/08/2 ... on-monday/

[eldonabe]

obviously Auburn will much deeper with talent than Umass but I think we can keep it close early and the game might not get too out of hand. I only say this because Auburn has a new coach with a new qb and system. It may take them a bit to get going. If we were playing them in game 8, this wouldn't matter but having them in their game 1 and having tape on Freeze from last year will be a big help.

They will be tied 0-0 at the start of the game so your prediction is spot on sir

[Old Cage]

Now here's a stat that I would never have thought possible:

Of all FBS teams that have attempted more than one field goal, UMass is the only team to make them all.

[Quann]

Having a good college kicker is so huge. Majority of FBS kickers are pretty inconsistent. It's probably gotten better compared to 20 years ago but you still see a lot of misses at the FBS level.

[Calmass9]

Having a good college kicker is so huge. Majority of FBS kickers are pretty inconsistent. It's probably gotten better compared to 20 years ago but you still see a lot of misses at the FBS level.

Since the beginning of last year Carson hasn't missed an XP (18/18) and is 15/18 on field goals inside of 50 yards. He's a very legit college kicker and a huge safety net for us.